In March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States many had no idea what to expect. What’s a lockdown? Our children will not go to school, what do you mean? I have to work from home now, where and how do you expect me to do that? It was a shock to everyone’s system, to say the least. I remember going to the grocery store in April or May and all the baking soda was out. I asked the courtesy counter what was going on, and she informed me that since Covid-19 everyone was baking these days. That makes sense, to deal with stress, people turned to comfort foods! Now only if people stuck to homemade dishes and desserts. We know that it didn’t stop there. Other processed foods were being purchased at an alarming rate. 

I have two questions:

1. Have you put on the ‘Quarantine 15?’

2. If not, how did you keep it off?

In this week's blog/podcast we will give you some tips on how to take off the Quarantine 15. If you have not put on Quarantine 15, you may find these tips helpful, should your area go into another shutdown.

Read/Listen Below 

Start Your Day The Right Way:

Once you make your mind up that losing the quarantine 15 weight is the most important to you, then we encourage you to stay in that mindset. The best way to reach any goal is with a plan. One of the best methods that I found to navigate through my days with success is by practicing The Miracle Morning. In Hal Elrod’s book, he talks about practicing the SAVERS. Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading and Scribing (Journaling) 

Oftentimes the first thing in the morning we may find ourselves doing is checking our social media feeds. An hour may have gone by and you are still in bed. Depending on your thread, your eyes first thing in the morning has seen countless negative posts, adding to your already stressful situation. Practicing the SAVERS first thing allows you time for self-reflection and sets your day up for success. You may have heard when saving money; “Pay Yourself First” Well this will allow you to give your most precious morning hours to yourself. Fight the urge to give it to your email inbox.

The Miracle Morning: The Not So Obvious Secret Guaranteed To Transform Your Life (Before 8am)

Just The Right Amount Of Exercise:

Did you know that to get fit that what you eat is more important than exercise? Exercise is important indeed, however some people overdo it and that’s not good either. 

Find an exercise that brings you joy. Do not feel the need to become a runner if you hate running. Although, I taught many that once hated running to enjoy running. (Chris Ballard & Katie Ayers)

Start your morning with a nice 20-30 walk. The fresh air on your face will awaken your spirits and give you a positive outlook on the rest of your day. If you schedule 30 minutes for exercise, warm-up for 5 minutes with some light jumping jacks, jogging in place, 5-10 push-ups, and a few dynamic stretches. Walk briskly, jog, or run/walk/run for 20 minutes. Followed by a nice 5 minute series of static stretches that will take care of your major muscle groups.  

**Although I mention getting your exercise done in the morning, feel free to exercise at lunch break, after work, or dinner. 

Eat On A Schedule: (The Intermittent Fasting Life Hack)

Life is all about timing. When younger we would wake up, have breakfast, go to school, have a snack, then lunch and recess. Everything was timed out for us. If you remember your body may have reminded you that it was almost lunchtime with a little belly rumble. 

In today’s work from home environment, our schedules are all out of sorts. You may find yourself heading to the snack cabinet out of boredom before lunch, after lunch, after the boss just complained, and or after little Johnny in the other room just yelled out “MOM, COME HERE!”  

Here are my go-to life hack for anyone looking to take control of their eating; 

• Bring mindfulness as to why you are eating - Ask yourself; Am I stressed or hungry?

• Eat On A Schedule - Ask yourself; Am I’m supposed to be eating right now or am I emotionally eating? If it’s 10 am and we have cookies and milk out would we have had that at our desk at work? Probably not. Sticking to eating at the same time every day will help train your body to know when food is expected. You then can not only lose weight but control and maintain your healthy weight forever. 

• Practice Intermittent Fasting - Since practicing Intermittent Fasting in 2018 I have been able to teach our members how to get the most out of their lives. Here are just a few benefits of Intermittent Fasting; 

  • Better Sleep

  • Clearer Skin

  • Weight Loss

  • No Brain Fog

  • Weight Maintenance

  • Helps You Eat On A Schedule

The word breakfast means breaking your fast. Breakfast does not have to be at 7 am. Breakfast does not have to be coffee, cream, sugar, cereal, toast, or pancakes. You may choose to break your fast at 11 am with leftover grilled chicken, spinach, and a baked potato.  This may be out of the box thinking based on what we were always taught. Eating on a schedule as mentioned is important to your success. Intermittent Fasting helps you to do just that. 

Here is how you can start. Take a look at your lifestyle. What time does your family finish dinner or snack? What time you wake up in the morning? What time do you begin work? What time is the first break or lunch period?  After considering these key aspects of your life, reflect on What Time could you reasonably close your eating window at night. Can you close your eating window after dinner at 7 pm and NOT have the crackers and cheese at 9:30 pm? If the answer is yes then you can close your eating window at 7 pm. Next, consider How Long to fast for. The Circadian Rhythm fast calls for a 13 hour fast, with an 11-hour eating window. The most popular is 16/8 - 16 hour fasting with an 8-hour eating window. 

Don’t feel like you have to dive into that immediately. Take a few weeks to work your way up to that sweet spot. 

Keep Alcohol Out Of Sight Out Of Mind: 

During the pandemic, alcohol consumption has gone up. Perhaps before the pandemic, your alcohol consumption was only a few glasses on the weekend. Now with extra time on your hands and stress, you may find yourself having a glass every night. Overindulging in alcohol will block any efforts that you put forth to lose weight. Some have chosen to forgo alcohol altogether. If you do decide to keep it a part of your lifestyle, don’t keep it in the house. Pick a date night to go out and have a healthy wine. When we say go out, you may choose not to eat out in a restaurant, but grab something to go and only have that drink on that occasion. 

Put Down The Remote & Phone (Get A Book) 

Here is where we talk about sleep. Sleep is important in your efforts to lose weight. During stressful times you may find it hard to sleep. Lying in bed and mind racing. Keep a nighttime journal. This will help you get the thoughts out of your brain and allow your subconscious to work on them while you sleep. A huge part of not falling asleep is staring at the blue light on our televisions and phones. It has been suggested not to look at the blue light at least an hour before bed. Let’s start with setting a timer reminding you that it’s bedtime. On your smartphone, this will turn off your notifications. Place your phone on a charge on the other side of the room so as not to become tempted to grab it. Grab a book and read it with a notebook by your side. A thought pops in your head, write it down and deal with it tomorrow. Reading will wind down your mind and get your eyes ready for sleepy town. Sweet dreams today!

Need Help? Go Get Some….. Here’s Where:

1. Find A Accountability Partner; In my article 7 Tips For Running Accountability Partners, you can find a friend or family member with the same goals as yourself. Pick a reliable partner that will call you out for grabbing that cookie while on a Zoom call. Don’t pick a partner that will allow you to slack on your goals. 

2. Join A Support Group; This can be a workplace group, family group, or my favorite….. subscribe to runtothebestyou.com Online Accountability Group (Weekly Health Connection Zoom Calls to help you reach your goals fast.)

3. Join A Weight Loss Challenge; Challenges keep us focused. Although we are not necessarily in it just to win a prize. A challenge may be just the jumpstart we need towards our overall health goals. (Keeping It Real Health Challenge)

4. Hire A Coach: I have been coaching individuals since 2013 to lose weight and regain their passion for life. I would love to find out some of your goals and set you on the path to reaching your desired goals. What are your goals? (Contact Us)

What Others Have Done To Keep Off The Quarantine 15!

Megan Cullen (Oh)

I put it on and just recently lost all the quarantine weight. I track my food, eat reasonably within a calorie limit 80% of the time, and move a lot. I aim for 10k steps a day. This is 2 months apart exactly

Lisa Stevens

Running consistently and watching what I eat. If I eat more “carbs” meals one day, then, I definitely run lol. Second, I lay off the “carbs” foods the next day. Hope that helps!

Angela Shepro

I lost weight because I was eating more Whole Foods being home rather than processed foods at work!

Heather Rine (Denver, CO)

I’ve lost 25 pounds. Added in more miles, no alcohol, more water, smaller portions & consistency.

Catherine Larsen (San Diego, CA)

No, Kept up my running. Added more walks. Kept the junk food out of the house. Have a food curfew.

Christina Roland (Oklahoma)

I actually lost weight during quarantine. I continued running, increased my daily water intake and ate from small salad plate instead of regular size plate.

Jennifer Saeger (Huntington Beach, CA)

I am at a -40 quarantine. When I was furloughed back in may I was determined to use the time to get healthy. I walked\ran\aerobics\yoga and I watched my calories.

Jamie Burke: (Member) Northfield, NJ

"I did not gain the quarantine 15! I was able to maintain my weight by not changing anything about my nutrition or fitness routine. Even though I stopped working out in the gym, I strength trained at home and continued to run 3 days per week. I also continued to eat real foods and use intermittent fasting.” - Member of the Run To The Best You Program 

I hope that this article finds you well and you can greatly benefit from the suggestions above. Carrying just an extra 15 lbs can make us FEEL 25 years older than we should.

Remember to;

• Start your day off right

• Eat on a schedule

• Keep alcohol out of sight

• Get proper sleep and

• Grab a friend to join you on your journey. 

Keep Calm And Eat To The Best You 

-Coach Tadris